One ruling dominated the week, and it is among the most operationally specific app-platform decisions yet. Australia's Federal Court set out remedies in the Epic v. Apple case, with a 2027 compliance window that publishers can start planning against now.

Australian Federal Court orders Apple to open iOS to rival stores and external payments, and bans junk fees on them

On October 21–22, 2026, Justice Jonathan Beach of the Federal Court of Australia issued remedies in Epic Games' antitrust case against Apple, following last year's finding that Apple breached Australian competition law by restricting app distribution and payments. The 235-page, 1,104-paragraph decision holds that Apple held substantial market power in iOS app distribution and in-app payments. By March 1, 2027, Apple must let Australian Apple Account holders install apps from third-party stores and directly from websites, let developers use alternative in-app payment systems, permit external payment links, and provide the APIs and tools needed for alternative distribution on substantially the same terms as App Store apps. On fees, the court prohibits charging for access to alternative distribution channels, limits certain fees on external payments, and lets developers offer lower prices outside Apple's system; it also bars Apple from requiring developers to report transactions processed through alternative providers or to offer Apple's IAP alongside their chosen alternative. Apple may request a one-time extension to May 3, 2027 (application due by February 15), keeps notarization and security-scanning for externally distributed apps, is not required to distribute rival marketplaces through its own App Store, and defeated Epic's bid for a worldwide injunction. Separately, the court ordered Apple to readmit Fortnite and other eligible Epic apps immediately upon written application; Epic said Fortnite would return to the Australian App Store the next day. Apple was ordered to pay 85% of Epic's trial costs and has said it will seek a stay and appeal.

Why it matters: For apps reaching Australian iOS users, the ruling opens a lawful path to collect payment outside Apple's IAP, steer users to external checkout, and price lower off-platform, while moving against the fee and anti-steering mechanics that have historically eroded external-payment economics elsewhere. The obligations are addressable: the deadline is known (March 1, 2027, possibly May 3), the carve-outs for notarization and security scanning are defined, and the fee and reporting prohibitions remove several frictions. The open risks are timing, given Apple's planned stay and appeal, and the engineering lift of standing up alternative payment and distribution flows per market.

Sources

The takeaway

Australia now joins the EU, Japan and Brazil as a distinct market where external payments are opening on their own timeline, terms and fee rules. The pattern is clear: the right to collect out-of-app is arriving jurisdiction by jurisdiction, each with its own compliance and localisation requirements, and each still subject to appeal. Publishers should treat Australia as a 2027 planning line item and watch the stay motion, while designing checkout flows that can absorb per-market differences in fees, tax and remittance. Routing that work through a Merchant of Record is one way to turn external payments on in a new market without rebuilding compliance for each one.